Facility incorporates nature to reduce operational costs

Design & Construction

Charlottesville, Va.'s newest public facility collects 50,000 gallons of rain to flush toilets and wash buses. Photo: City of Charlottesville

The four buildings that comprise Charlottesville Area Transit's new 6-acre operations and maintenance campus are expected to receive LEED Gold certification next year, thanks to features such as:

Using bio-retention and underground percolation to store and treat storm-water

Geothermal heating and cooling

Extensive daylighting with solar glare control

Time-regulated energy consumption

High use of recycled content and materials

Completed in May, the Virginian campus reflects years of planning and coordination between the City of Charlottesville, which owns the campus; the Federal Transit Administration; and the Virginia Department of Rail and Urban Transportation. A federal grant covered 62% of the $15.6 million price tag and the state picked up 29%, leaving 8% for the city to pay.

“It represents the cutting edge of environmentally and economically sound design and construction, especially for an industrial development,” says Charlottesville Director of Public Works Judith Mueller.